Five Straight Wins Over Brown
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – After a challenging non-league schedule, which included four games against teams from Power Five conferences and three against squads receiving votes in national polls, the Yale women's basketball team is set to begin their "14 Game Tournament" on Saturday.
The Bulldogs (9-8) host Brown in the Lee Amphitheater at 2 p.m., officially beginning their Ivy League season. The game can be seen live on ESPN3, as well as the Ivy League Digital Network.
It will be a special day for both Yale basketball programs, who will play an Ivy League doubleheader against the Bears. The women's game is set for 2 p.m., while the men's game is slated for shortly afterward at 5 p.m.
On top of back-to-back games, Saturday is also Youth Day, as numerous youth groups from the area will be present to cheer on the Bulldogs and enjoy the day's festivities. A kids' table with artistic crafts, in-game promotions, postgame autographs and an airing of the movie "The Incredibles" following the men's game are all included.
The Elis, under first-year Joel E. Smilow '54 head coach Allison Guth, finished the non-league slate with a 73-60 loss at Boston College on Sunday – a game where senior forward Nyasha Sarju (Seattle, Wash.) scored a game-high 21 points and sophomore forward Jen Berkowitz (Wayland, Mass.) scored a career-high 18.
Sarju is second in the Ivy League with 16.6 points per game, leading the Bulldogs on the offensive end. Senior captain Whitney Wyckoff (West Chester, Ohio) and sophomore guard Tamara Simpson (North Babylon, N.Y.) are averaging 9.9 and 9.8 points, respectively.
In addition to the balanced scoring, Yale's defense has been one of the league's best. The Bulldogs are forcing 18.6 turnovers and recording 9.3 steals per game, both second-best in the Ivy League.
In the first half of the season, the Bulldogs have protected their home court advantage. Yale is 7-1 this season in the Lee Amphitheater, looking to improve on that mark when Brown comes to town. The Elis have won five straight against the Bears.
Last season, Yale began Ivy League play with a 5-0 record, its best start since the 1979-80 season when the Bulldogs went unbeaten (7-0) in league play. Guth's squad begins its quest for its first league title since 1978-79 on Saturday.
Scouting Brown
On Saturday, the Bears (12-2) will look to redeem last season's loss to the Bulldogs in the Lee Amphitheater. Yale pulled away with a 66-49 victory on Jan. 16, 2015, due in large part to causing 23 turnovers by Brown.
Brown has not played one team this season from a Power Five conference or one who qualified for the 2015 NCAA Tournament. Its two losses came to Manhattan and Saint Peter's (Yale beat Manhattan, 62-36, on Dec. 1).
Three players are averaging in double-figures for the Bears, including leading scorer Jordin Alexander with 13.9 points per game. Freshman forward Erika Steeves averages 9.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game and is a three-time Ivy League Rookie of the Week this season.
Brown leads the Ivy League in field goals made per game (27), field goal percentage (43.9), three-point percentage (35.6), steals (11.3 per game), and opposing field goal percentage (32.7).
Bulldogs by the Numbers
Fab Five: Yale's starting five has been the same in 16 of 17 games this season, finding consistency in its lineup. The five of Sarju, Wyckoff, Simpson, McIntyre and Werner have accounted for 73-percent of the team's scoring.
Quick Hands: Simpson leads the Ivy League with 2.9 steals per game and ranks 19th nationally in the category. Her 50 steals this season put her just 24 behind Sue Johnson's single-season record of 74 in the 1983-84 season.
One of Six: The Bulldogs will have six of their Ivy League games broadcast on ESPN3, in addition to the Ivy League Digital Network. Those games are Brown (1/16), at Brown (1/23), at Penn (1/29), at Cornell (2/6), Princeton (2/19), and at Harvard (2/26).
Filed by Steve Lewis, Yale Sports Publicity
